The Walking Dead: Tales of Deuce Madden
by Alexneushoorn
Summary: Military cadet Deuce Madden crashes with a helicopter on his way to Los Angeles and finds the world overrun with walkers, undead people. As he tries to survive, he encounters other survivors along the way, and together, they try to find a new home.
1. Chapter 1: The Outbreak

A military helicopter was flying from New York City to Los Angeles, California. Aboard were three militairy men. These men were Pilot Hector Larson, Sergeant Grady Dawson and Private Deuce Madden. They were gonna attend the anniversary of their military department. As they flew, they were discussing various businesses.

'Deuce, you've come a long way since you joined the U.S. Army 3 years ago. Honestly, I was a little skeptical when you first joined, because you had little to no experience, but through training and determination, you've proven yourself worthy as a cadet here. Maybe we will promote you to corporal soon.' Grady said.

Deuce smiled. He joined the military when he had just turned 18, having been interested in it since he was 10 years old. Back then, he would play soldier with his friends in the neighbourhood, and when he finally turned 18, he signed up and was approved for military duty. He was happy to hear that his sergeant was pleased with him. 'Thank you, sir. I'm happy to hear you say that.' Deuce responded.

'I understand completely.' Grady said. 'Fighting for your country is a huge honor, but it's also really dangerous. There's a chance you might not return home during times of war. I've served the military for 15 years now, and I've had my fair share of wars. I've seen countless dead bodies, which belonged to my fallen comrades. I fought for my country, my fallen comrades and for freedom. It's a cruel game, keep that in mind.' Grady said sternly and seriously.

Deuce nodded. 'I learned that as soon as I joined.' He said. 'But despite all the dangers of the military, I still stay loyal to the American troops.'

Grady smiled. 'Good to know, Deuce. Loyalty is what keeps a man going in times of war.'

Deuce nodded. 'How long will it take until we get to Fort Worth?' He asked.

'Just a few more hours if we don't get any turbulence.' Grady responded.

'Okay, good.' Deuce said. Suddenly, a bird flew into the helicopter's windscreen, causing Hector to lose control of the helicopter. It started spinning out of control.

'Pilot, what's going on?!' Grady shouted.

'A bird flew into the windscreen, sir!' Hector responded.

'Keep the chopper steady, cadet!' Grady shouted.

'I'm trying all I can, sir, but it's not working!' Hector responded. Suddenly, the chopper crashed within a forest, and Deuce blacked out. About an hour later, he woke up and found himself in the remains of the helicopter. Deuce groaned as he tried to get up. He looked through the helicopter's windscreen and saw Hector and Grady lying on the ground.

'Sarge, I'm still in here!' Deuce shouted. Grady didn't respond. Deuce was worried and he smashed through the windscreen and climbed out of the helicopter. He then walked over to Grady and Hector and inspected their bodies.

'Hmmm…Their not breathing. And they have no heartbeat. They're dead…' Deuce frowned. Deuce then saw Grady's gun lying on the ground. He picked it up and checked the ammo.

'It's fully loaded. Good, because I might need this.' Deuce said. Suddenly, the bodies of Grady and Hector reanimated and they growled at Deuce. Deuce was scared because he was caught off guard. Grady and Hector crawled over to Deuce as he crawled over to the chopper. He looked at his gun and then at the undead Grady and Hector.

'D-Don't make me do this!' Deuce said rather frightened. As Grady and Hector got closer, Deuce realized he had no choice, but to shoot Grady and Hector. He aimed at Grady's head and shot him down. He then aimed at Hector's head and shot him down too. Deuce caught his breath as he looked at the undead bodies of his fallen comrades. He got up and decided to walk off to look for help. Suddenly, more undead people showed up. Deuce was frightened and ran away from the undead people, who chased after him. He climbed over a nearby fence and ended up in someone's backyard. The undead people then walked away.

'Man, what was that all about…?' Deuce groaned. He then walked over to the back door of the house he was at. He looked through the window, but saw no one. Deuce quietly opened the door and walked in.

'Uh, anyone home? Don't shoot, okay?' Deuce said.

'Who's there?' A female voice replied.

'Uh, a-a soldier.' Deuce replied back.

'A soldier? Finally, someone has come to rescue me!' The person walked down the stairs. They turned out to be a black woman dressed in a black t-shirt and an open red flannel jacket, together with light green cargo pants.

'Uh, h-hi. I'm Deuce.' Deuce said.

'I'm Pacifica.' The woman responded. 'Were you not bitten?' She asked Deuce.

'Bitten? What do you mean?' Deuce asked confused.

'Well, those dead people, which we decided to call walkers, walk around biting people. Once a person is bitten, they will turn into a walker.' Pacifica explained.

'I see…' Deuce said. 'Are there any other people here?' He asked.

'Yes. My son Toby is in the backyard in the treehouse. I'll tell him it's safe.' Pacifica said as she walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a walkie talkie from the kitchen drawer. 'Toby, sweetie, it's safe. There's someone here to help us.' Pacifica said, speaking into the walkie talkie.

'Okay, mom. I'm coming.' Toby said. A black kid, about 12 years old wearing a gray sweater, a pair of khakis and a light blue cap climbed out of the treehouse and walked into the house. 'Hello, sir. I'm Toby.' He said.

Deuce smiled. 'I'm Deuce.' He said.

'Well, we gotta go look for my husband, Wendell. He was on his way home, but had to turn the car and go to Atlanta. The military adviced everyone to go there.' Pacifica said.

'That's a good idea. I have an uncle who lives there. Maybe we can stay with him.' Deuce said.

'Okay, but let's get some foods and drinks for our trip first.' Pacifica said.

'Okay, let's do that.' Deuce answered. He and Pacifica then started packing foods and drinks for their journey. Once that was done, they left through the back door and walked over to the car which was standing at the curb. Deuce put his gun in the trunk of the car and then got in the car with Pacifica and Toby. They then drove away just in time, because a group of walkers was coming their way.

After driving for a while, their car ran out of gas.

'Oh my, we're out of gas.' Pacifica said.

'There's a gas station up ahead. Maybe we can refuel there.' Deuce said. Pacifica nodded and she and Deuce got out of the car and pushed it to the nearby gas station. They saw the gas station boarded up with a sign saying 'NO GAS'. Deuce didn't believe the sign and tried refueling the car. There was no gas coming out of the pump.

'Damn, there's no gas.' Deuce said.

Toby got out of the car. 'Really? Nothing?' He asked. Deuce nodded. Suddenly, he heard something and he, Toby and Pacifica ducked behind the car. They saw a man walking by, and he walked away from them. Deuce got up to ask the man something.

'Excuse me, can you help us?' Deuce asked the man. The man turned around, revealing himself to be a walker. Deuce quickly opened the truck and grabbed his gun. He quickly shot the walker in the head, killing it. He then looked at Pacifica and Toby.

'Thank you for protecting us, Deuce.' Pacifica said.

Deuce nodded. 'You're welcome.' He responded.

'What do we do now?' Toby asked.

'Well, now that we're out of gas and can't refuel, I guess we're gonna have to walk to Atlanta.' Deuce sighed.

'I guess we don't have much of a choice.' Pacifica said as she got a backpack filled with food and drinks from the car. 'Walking it is.' She said. Deuce and Toby nodded, and together with their backpac, the threesome started their trek to Atlanta on foot.


	2. Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

Deuce, Pacifica and Toby had been walking down the highway for a while now. They hadn't come across any survivors and it was getting dark.

'So, is there anything else you know about these 'walkers'?' Deuce asked Pacifica.

'Well, I don't know a lot about them yet, but I think they become a lot more active in the dark.' Pacifica said.

'Then we gotta be really careful now, because it's getting dark.' Deuce said.

'Mr. Deuce, I'm afraid the walkers might eat us.' Toby said, a bit frightened.

'Don't worry, Toby. Just stay behind me and you'll be fine.' Deuce assured Toby.

'Okay then…' Toby said. The threesome continued to walk down the highway. After walking a few more hours, it had turned dark, and they had gotten tired from walking.

'Ugh, Deuce, I'm so tired…' Toby groaned.

'So am I…' Pacifica groaned.

'Tsk. As a militairy man I'm used to walking long distances. I'm sure we'll get to a town soon.' Deuce said. As soon as he said this, he saw a town up ahead. 'Well, would you look at that! We found a town!' Deuce said. The trio then walked off of the highway and entered the town. It was completely deserted.

'Well, looks like the place is deserted.' Pacifica said.

'Well, I guess we could sleep in one of these deserted buildings.' Deuce said. He then walked into a deserted building holding up his gun in case someone was inside the building. Pacifica and Toby followed behind. Deuce checked every room in the building and found nothing or no one.

'It's safe.' Deuce said. Pacifica and Toby sighed in relief. Deuce then saw three folding beds stacked up against the wall. 'We can sleep on these.' He said. He then folded out the beds. 'We might not have anything to sleep under, but at least we can sleep.' He added. Pacifica and Toby sighed and lied down on the beds. Deuce put his gun against the wall and lied down as well. 'Good night.' Deuce said to Pacifica. 'Good night, Deuce.' Pacifica and Toby said back. Everyone then sighed and fell asleep.

The next morning, the threesome woke up as their stomachs rumbled. 'Man, I haven't eaten since yesterday's lunch.' Deuce said. What did we put in those backpacks again?' He asked Pacifica. Pacifica checked the backpack.

'We got cheese sandwiches, we got chips, we got bottles of water and some cans of lemonade.' Pacifica said.

'Gimme one of those sandwiches.' Deuce said. Pacifica got a cheese sandwich out of the backpack and handed it to Deuce. She then got one for Toby and one for herself. They then began to eat. It didn't taste bad, and they enjoyed what they got. They then drank some water and then got ready to continue their trek. Deuce grabbed his gun and led the way. They walked through the town they were in, which was still completely deserted.

'Man, this is creepy.' Pacifica said.

'Damn straight.' Deuce answered. 'I hope we find signs of life soon, because I don't like this one bit.'

The threesome walked through town and found two horses.

'This'll do for transport.' Deuce said.

'I guess.' Pacifica said. She then helped Toby up on a horse and then got onto it herself. Deuce strapped his gun onto his back and got onto a horse too. They then started their trek on their horses.

Elsewhere, a small group of survivors had set up a camp. The camp was made up out of a few RV's. A man with blonde hair in his early 20's was sitting at a table together with a man, also in his early 20's and also wore a brown fedora.

'I wonder how the outbreak even came to be…' The blonde man said.

'Not sure, Earl, but we gotta keep moving for Atlanta. At a research lab, they're trying to find a cure against the walkers.' The fedora wearing man said.

'If you say so, Eric…' Earl said. Earl then drank some beer.

'I KNOW so, Earl.' Eric said. 'I'm sure that the scientists in Atlanta will save us, so don't be so pessimistic.'

Earl sighed. 'Okay then…' He muttered. 'Should we check how Ciara is doing?' He asked.

'I'm here, daddy!' Ciara said. Ciara looked like a 10 year old girl with red hair and had a ponytail in her hair.

'Good. Do you remember what we told you?' Earl asked Ciara.

Ciara nodded. 'Don't ever leave the camp.' She said.

Earl smiled. 'Good girl.' He replied. 'Go check on Aunt Valerie. She might need help with firewood.' He told Ciara.

'Okay, daddy, I will!' Ciara said as she ran off to find her Aunt Valerie.

'Even after the outbreak, she's as cheery as ever.' Eric commented.

'Yup. She's what gives me hope in this dismal world.' Earl replied.

Eric nodded and looked at the walkie talkie that was lying on the table. 'Do you think there is someone who has a walkie talkie like this one?' He asked Earl.

'I don't know. Try speaking into it, maybe you'll get a response out of it.' Earl replied.

Eric nodded and grabbed the walkie talkie, then spoke into it. 'Hello? Hello? If anyone can hear this, please answer.' He said.

Meanwhile, with Deuce and his group, Deuce heard Eric's message, because he has a similar walkie talkie. 'Stop here, I heard someone on my walkie talkie.' Deuce said to Pacifica. Both Deuce and Pacifica stopped their horses as Deuce grabbed his walkie talkie from his chest pocket. Somehow it survived the helicopter crash. Deuce spoke into his walkie talkie. 'Yes, hello, I can hear you.' Deuce answered.

'Good. Where are you right now?' Eric asked.

'I'm currently with a woman and a kid riding through a town on a horse.' Deuce replied. 'What about you?'

'I'm currently in a survivor camp on our way to Atlanta.' Eric said.

'Okay, and what's your name?' Deuce asked.

'Eric.' Eric replied.

'Okay, Eric. I'm Deuce.' Deuce replied back.

'Where should we meet?' Eric asked Deuce.

'It depends on what's the closest to your location.' Deuce answered.

'How about we meet at the closest highway leading to Atlanta?' Eric said.

'Very well. Let's keep in touch.' Deuce said.

'Okay then. Speak to you soon.' Eric said.

'Okay, over and out.' Deuce said as he tucked his walkie talkie back into his chest pocket. 'Let's head to the closest highway to Atlanta. We'll meet people there who might be able to help us.' Deuce said.

'Okay then.' Pacifica said. The threesome then continued to trek on their horses.


	3. Chapter 3: Post-Apo Radio

Eric ended the transmission. He then looked at Earl.

'Earl, I'm gonna go pick up those survivors I just talked to. Can I borrow your bike?' Eric asked Earl.

'Okay, but be sure to bring the bike back.' Earl said.

Eric nodded, got Earl's bike from the RV and then cycled off to the nearby highway leading to Atlanta. After cycling for a while, he reached it. He then got off the bike and waited for Deuce and his group. Eventually, he saw Deuce and his group on their horses. He started waving with his arms and Deuce spotted him.

'That must be Eric. Let's go.' Deuce said. Pacifica nodded and the group trot over to Eric on their horses.

'Hi, you must be Eric.' Deuce said.

'Yep, the name's Eric Rogers.' Eric said. 'Are you Deuce?'

'Yep. I'm Deuce Madden.' Deuce said.

'I'm Pacifica Bradshaw and this is my son Toby.' Pacifica said. Toby waved at Eric.

'I'll take you to my survivor camp.' Eric said. 'Follow me.' Eric then got back on his bike and cycled off. Deuce's group followed on their horses until they reached the camp. Eric's family looked as Deuce's group entered the camp. A few of Eric's family members pointed guns at Deuce's group.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Relax, guys! They come in peace!' Eric said.

'If you say so…' A man with a mustache said.

Deuce, Pacifica and Toby got off their horses.

'These three are Deuce Madden, Pacifica Bradshaw and Toby Bradshaw.' Eric explained.

'Well, I'm glad to finally see signs of life other than the three of us.' Deuce said.

Earl nodded. 'I understand completely.' He said. 'I'm Earl Rogers, Eric's brother.'

'Nice to meet you.' Deuce said. 'So…What should we do now?' He asked.

Earl shrugged. 'Not sure. Maybe we should continue our trek to Atlanta.' He said.

'Okay then.' Deuce said. He looked at the Rogers family's vehicles. 'Think we could ride along in your vehicles?' He asked.

'Sure. Let's pack in and move.' Eric said. The family nodded and they started packing everything into their vehicles. Deuce, Pacifica and Toby got into Earl and Eric's RV with them and Ciara. Once everyone was ready, they started driving towards the nearest highway. Deuce had put his gun in the RV's shower stall.

'So, do you guys happen to have any guns or other weapons to use against the walkers?' Deuce asked Earl.

'Yup. We got a good amount of rifles, pistols and other weapons, so if those darn walkers were to attack us, we would be fine.' Earl said.

Deuce nodded. 'That's good to hear. Don't wanna be defenseless when you get ambushed by those shitsacks.' He said.

Toby was talking to Ciara.

'So, are you learning to shoot yet?' Ciara asked Toby.

Toby was shocked. 'L-Learning to shoot?' He asked a bit nervously.

'Yeah, I mean, those walkers will kill any living thing they see, including you and me.' Ciara said. 'My dad isn't planning on teaching me how to shoot yet, but he'll have to do it eventually.' She added.

'I-I guess I'll ask my mom if she can ask Mr. Deuce if he can teach me how to shoot.' Toby said.

Ciara nodded. 'That's good to hear.'

Toby nodded. Pacifica was looking out the window, looking at the abandoned cars on the side of the road.

'It's really creepy to see all these abandoned cars on the side of the road.' Pacifica said.

'I totally agree with you.' Deuce said. 'It makes everything look so empty.'

'Yup. We've seen many abandoned vehicles so far.' Earl said. 'Some blocked the road, so we had to push 'em outta the way so we could continue.'

'And we couldn't let our guard down, because there could be a horde of walkers just down the road.' Eric added.

'They could tear you apart while eating you up.' Ciara said.

'That's a scary thought…' Deuce commented.

Eric nodded. 'It certainly is…' He said. 'Say, how about we check if there's any radio stations that are still broadcasting?' He asked.

'Sure.' Deuce said.

'Alright.' Toby said.

'Fine by me.' Pacifica said.

Eric nodded and turned on the radio. He switched between a few channels before finding a talk station.

'Welcome to Post-Apo Radio, the home of survivors of the outbreak, broadcasting whenever there's survivors available.' An announcer said.

'Up next on Post-Apo Radio, it's the Post-Apo Radio Community Hour with Burt Smith.' The voice over said. The show then started.

'Wanna listen to this?' Eric asked. Everyone nodded.

'Alright.' Eric said.

'Hello, and welcome to the Post-Apo Radio Community Hour. I'm Burt Smith, a survivor of the outbreak. Ever since the outbreak, this radio station has been here, run by volunteering survivors like me. So today on the Community Hour, we'll be discussing the thoughts and theories on how this outbreak will end.' Burt said. 'My guess is that the walkers will eventually crumble at a certain point, and then we'll have to rebuild society. It's kinda sad, but we'll have no choice.' Burt added. 'So let's see if we can get any callers on the hotline. If you have a working phone, then call Post-Apo Radio at 555-660-121. Now let's see if we can get any callers on the line. Hello?' Burt said.

'Hey, Burt. I'm Greg. I want to share my thoughts and theories on the outbreak. Even though the outbreak has happened not too long ago, it sure did a number on the American land. I mean, those pesky walker took down my farm, forcing me and my family to flee. Right now, I'm calling from a pick up truck. I hope the outbreak will end as soon as possible. Love the stuff you and other survivors do for us.' Greg said.

'I totally agree with you, Greg. The outbreak costed me my home as well. But not only my home, my wife as well. My 3 children and I were devastated by her death, and we currently sleep here at the radio station. My children are really frightened by the walkers wandering around outside, so I've been learning them to shoot so they can defend themselves. I'm even training the youngest kid to shoot, and she's only 7.' Burt said. 'Thanks for calling my show, Greg.' Burt said.

'You're welcome, man. I lost family to the outbreak too. I lost my dad to the walkers while we were out on a scavenger hunt. It was heartbreaking, but sometimes you have to move on. Anyways, I gotta go now. The missus need me.' Greg said.

'Okay, thank you for your time. Bye!' Burt said.

'Bye!' Greg said as he hung up.

'See? The outbreak does horrible things to society. People are being eaten, shot, stabbed, or killed in more than 10 different ways. Because the walkers aren't the only threat in this dismal world, the survivors are too. Let's see if we can get a caller on the line who experienced this.' Burt said.

'Hello? Hey, Burt. My name is Astrid, and my brother was killed by hostile survivors not too long ago. They tried robbing us, my brother tried protecting our stuff but one of the survivors stabbed him to death with a knife. I then gave the survivors most of our food and drinks, and they left. Fortunately, they didn't steal my cell phone and personal radio, because if they did, I wouldn't be able to listen to and call your show.' Astrid said.

'Well, I'm sorry for your loss, Astrid, and I hope you don't lose any more lives out there. Family and friends are important, but in an apocalypse like this, there's no one you can trust. So be careful out there, and don't get killed.' Burt said.

'Okay, will do, Burt. Thank you for what you and other survivors do for us.' Astrid said as she hung up.

'Well, this goes to show what an apocalypse does to selfish people. They turn into shameless serial killers who go around robbing people and killing them if they don't get what they want. It's infuriating. Stay strong out there, and watch out for walkers and hostile survivors. Speaking of which, we actually got a psychologist here in the studio, who will tell us about how apocalypse changes a person. So here's our psychologist, Dr. Phillip Sherman.' Burt said.

Deuce and the group looked at each other as they listened to the radio show.

'This is crazy…' Deuce muttered.

'I agree with ya. This is too much.' Eric said as he turned off the radio.

'Well, if we don't run into trouble, we'll be reaching Atlanta in a few days or so.' Earl said.

'We'll see if we can make it.' Deuce said.


	4. Chapter 4: In The Woods

Suddenly, the RV convoy ran out of gas and all RV's and cars came to a stop.

'Damn, I think we're out of gas.' Earl said.

'Do we have any jerry cans or something?' Deuce asked.

'I think so.' Earl said. 'Let's get out to check.'

The group then proceeded to get out of the RV to check the trunk for jerry cans. Toby saw one.

'There's at least one over there.' Toby said. He proceeded to grab it, but it turned out to be empty.

'Aw, man. It's empty.' Toby groaned.

'Why the hell would you keep an empty jerry can in here?' Deuce asked.

'Whoops, I think we already used it.' Earl said. Deuce facepalmed.

'Great, we're out of gas…Let's gather as many supplies as possible and continue on foot.' Deuce suggested. Everyone nodded. Deuce went back in the RV to grab his gun. The rest of the Rogers family grabbed some guns as well as food and drinks. The Rogers family as well as Deuce and his group then walked down the highway. Suddenly, they saw a few walkers feasting on dead bodies.

'Keep quiet…' Eric whispered. 'I heard they get attracted to sound…' He explained. He then gestured to the hills.'This way…' Eric whispered. Everyone nodded and they quietly snuck into the hills. Suddenly, the group heard shooting and they looked in the direction the shooting came from. A few men started firing at the walkers.

'What the fuck are they doing?!' Eric quietly growled.

'They're wasting bullets and attracting more walkers, it seems…' Deuce said.

'Well, I don't like this one bit! I'm going to deal with this!' Eric said as he ran over to the group of men, with Deuce following him. Eric stabbed one of the men with a knife.

'What are you doing?!' One of the men asked.

'Preventing you idiots from attracting more walkers!' Eric angrily shouted. The men saw the Rogers family and started running over to them.

'Don't you dare try and kill those guys!' Deuce said as he tackled one of the men and beat him to death with the handgrip of his gun. One of the men shot Earl and Eric's dad and put him down with a knife.

'Dad, no!' Earl shouted as he grabbed the man and shot him death with a pistol. 'Quick, into the woods! We'll come after you!' Earl shouted at the rest of the group, who ran into the woods. Earl, Eric and Deuce then killed the remaining members of the group. They then fled as the walkers came after them. They soon caught up with the rest of the family.

'Are they dead…?' Toby asked.

'Yes…And we managed to flee from the walkers…' Deuce said, panting.

'I can't believe those jerks killed grandpa…' Ciara said, crying.

Earl walked over to Ciara to hug her. 'It's fine, Ciara…Grandpa is alright now…He doesn't have to suffer in this dismal world anymore…' He said, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Toby then walked over to his mother. 'M-Mom, can I ask you something?' He asked.

'What is it, Toby?' Pacifica asked.

'Could Mr. Deuce teach me how to shoot?' Toby asked quietly.

'What?! Why?!' Pacifica asked.

'Ciara's dad is teaching her how to shoot too, because she needs to be able to defend herself…' Toby said.

Deuce nodded. 'I agree with Toby.' He said. 'He needs to be able to defend himself in case he gets attacked by walkers.'

Pacifica sighed in defeat. 'Okay then…You can do it…' She said.

'Thanks, mom!' Toby said.

'We gotta look for a place to rest our heads, because if we don't find a place before it's dark, we'll probably become walker food.' Eric said.

'Yes, let's go.' Earl said. He gestured and the group followed him. They walked through the woods, looking for a residence. While they were walking, Eric asked Deuce something.

'Say, why are you wearing your military uniform anyway? Didn't you have anything else to wear?' Eric asked Deuce.

'I was on my way to the anniversary of my military department when our helicopter crashed, and when I woke up, the outbreak had begun. That's why I'm wearing my military uniform.' Deuce said.

'Ah, I see.' Eric said. 'Will you change clothes when you get the chance?' He asked Deuce.

'Maybe. My clothes aren't too dirty at the moment, so I'll keep wearing this until I want to wear something else and I happen to find some clothes.' Deuce responded. Eric nodded as the group continued to walk through the woods. They then found a group of cabins in the woods.

'Looks like we found some place.' Earl said. 'Let's check if the cabins are empty.'

Earl, Eric and Deuce then went in with their weapons. They checked every cabin and found nothing.

'It's safe.' Earl said.

Everyone then picked a cabin to sleep in. The next morning, once everyone was awake, they continued trekking through the woods. Eventually, after walking for a long time, they came out of the woods and ended up at a road where a lot of rotting corpses were lying.

'Looks like a lot of victims were here.' Toby remarked.

'Yes…I don't like it one bit...' Pacifica said, a bit worried.

'Look, there's a lone walker over there!' Deuce said as he pointed at a walker coming at them from the left.

'Should we kill it…?' Toby asked Deuce.

'It's a bit risky. If we fire at that walker, we could attract lots of them. Walkers from at least 5 miles away can hear a gunshot.' Eric said.

'How do you know so much about those walkers in so little time?' Deuce asked Eric.

'Ever since the outbreak, not too long ago, I've been studying the walkers' behavior. It's the best way of surviving out here.' Eric answered.

'In that case, we should just let that walker be.' Deuce said.

'Maybe not, because it's coming at us!' Pacifica said, frightened.

'Earl, gimme a gun!' Deuce said. Earl handed Deuce a pistol, who in turn gave it to Toby.

'Okay, Toby, you gotta aim for the head. That's the key to killing them.' Deuce explained to Toby. Toby nodded, got in position, aimed the gun at the walker's head and fired. The walker dropped dead to the ground.

'Good job, Toby. Keep the pistol with you. You might need it.' Earl said. Toby nodded.

'Let's hope we don't run into any more walkers because of that gunshot.' Earl said.

'We'll just wait and see, Eric.' Earl said.

'So, which way should we go next?' Earl asked Deuce.

'Do I have to take a lead? Okay…We'll go…left.' Deuce said. The group nodded and they walked left.


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting The Roamers

Deuce and his group were walking down the road, trying to find a way to get to Atlanta.

'Hmmm…I don't think we'll get to Atlanta for a few weeks or so.' Earl said.

'We might get there quicker if we split up.' Deuce suggested.

'Are you sure?' Eric asked Deuce.

'It's just a suggestion.' Deuce said.

'He may be right. Let's split up.' Earl said. 'Eric, you're goin' with Deuce, Pacifica, Toby and your wife Casey. I'm taking Ciara and the rest with me.'

'Okay. Good luck, brother.' Eric said as he hugged Earl.

'You too.' Earl said as he and his group started walking sideways into the woods. Soon, they were out of sight.

'I hope they'll be alright…' Pacifica said, a bit worried.

'I'm sure they'll be fine.' Casey said.

'Casey's right, Pacifica. They'll probably be fine.' Eric said. They then continued walking down the road. They walked until they came into a deserted town.

'Looks like we found another town.' Pacifica said.

'Sure looks like it.' Toby replied. Suddenly, the group was ambushed by three walkers.

'Eric, Toby let's take these walkers out.' Deuce said. Eric and Toby nodded and got their guns ready. They aimed for the walkers' heads and shot. The three walkers dropped to the ground, dead.

'That'll teach them.' Toby said.

'Keep on practicing your shooting skills, son. You're gonna need it.' Eric told Toby. Deuce nodded in agreement.

'He's right, Toby. We're gonna need to train you some more when we get the chance.' Deuce said. He then looked at the town.

'Let's see if we can find some more survivors here.' Deuce said.

'We gotta be careful, though, because there might be hostile survivors around.' Casey said. Everyone nodded and walked around with their weapons raised. They checked buildings for loot and things to hold supplies in. Toby found an orange backpack in a broken down car.

'Look, this backpack might come in handy.' Toby said.

'Great job, Toby. Let's see if there's anything in the backpack.' Deuce said as he took the backpack. He zipped it open and looked inside. It was empty, there was nothing except for a map.

'There's a map in this backpack.' Deuce said as he took a look at the map. It was a map of the state they were currently in.

'It's a map of the current state.' Deuce said.

'Well, let's keep it, because it'll be one of our only ways of navigating in this dismal world.' Pacifica said. Deuce nodded and put the map in the backpack and zipped it closed. The group continued walking through town. They found no other survivors, but did find some food and drinks in an abandoned house. They took them and put them in the backpack. They then left town and continued walking. They spent the next few days walking from town to town, occasionally stopping to rest, sleep and eat and drink. After another few days, they arrived in a town where they heard gunshots.

'There's gun shooting. That means there's more survivors!' Pacifica said.

'Hey, is someone there?! Help me, please!' A male voice called out.

'Where did that come from?' Casey asked.

'I think it came from that car over there.' Deuce said, pointing to a red car. He walked over to the car and found an Asian man trapped in the back of the car.

'Thank heavens that somebody found me!' The man said. 'Can you please help me out of the car? I'm cuffed up back here!' He asked Deuce.

Deuce thought about it. 'Okay then.' He said. He opened the back door of the car and pulled the man out of the car. He had handcuffs around his wrists.

'What happened to you?' Deuce asked.

'Some hostiles handcuffed me, robbed me of my stuff and trapped me in this car. My group is in this town. If you can find the key to the cuffs I'll introduce you to my group.' The man said.

'I found the key! They threw it here on the ground!' Eric said as he handed the key to Deuce. Deuce unlocked the man's handcuffs and tossed them on the ground.

'Thank you for your help.' The man said. 'My name is Buford.'

Deuce smiled. 'I'm Deuce Madden, this is Pacifica Bradshaw and her son Toby, this is Eric Rogers and his wife Casey.' He introduced everyone.

'Okay, I'll bring you to my group now.' Buford said as he guided Deuce's group to his group, who were up on a rooftop. Up on the rooftop were 3 men and two women. One men was black, the other two were white. The two women were white too.

"Hey, Buford, who did you bring with you?" The black man asked.

"This is Deuce Madden, along with his group. This is Pacifica Bradshaw, with her son Toby, and that's Eric Rogers with his wife Casey." Buford told him.

The black men nodded. "Alright. My name is Kevin." He told Deuce and his group. These white men are Gary and Thomas, and these women are Joan and Tracey." Kevin told Deuce's group.

"Yep. Together with Buford, we are The Roamers." Joan replied.

"It's nice to meet you." Tracey responded.

"Agreed." Deuce replied, smiling."

"Yeah, it's good to see there's more friendly survivors here." Gary replied. Thomas just remained silent.

"Why doesn't Thomas say anything?" Deuce asked.

"He's a bit hostile towards other survivors he meets, and when he meets other survivors, he gives them the silent treatment." Kevin explained. "Once you're around him for a while, he'll open up. When we first met him, he just told us his name and didn't say much afterwards."

Deuce nodded, understanding that.

"So, who's the leader of the group?" Deuce asked.

"That would be Kevin." Tracey replied. Kevin nodded.

"Yes, I'm the leader of the group." Kevin replied.

"Okay. Do you happen to have a mode of transportation?" Deuce asked.

"Well, according to Gary, he found an abandoned military checkpoint with some wagons while scouting the area. We could head there and then travel towards Atlanta." Kevin said.

"Alright. Let's go." Deuce said. Kevin nodded and he guided his and Deuce's groups towards the nearest exit to the ground. Once that was done, the groups made their way towards the military checkpoint. Once they got there, they saw 5 military men walking around the checkpoint. The groups go tinto cover, not knowing if they were hostile.

"Hey, those are military troops, like me!" Deuce whispered.

"I'm not sure if we could trust them, Deuce. Like they said on Post-Apo Radio, not all survivors are friendly." Eric told Deuce.

"That is true…" Deuce replied. Suddenly, the groups were ambushed by two walkers. Deuce and Toby reacted quickly and shot the two walkers dead before anyone got hurt. The military men heard the shots.

"Did you hear that, Roman?! There's more people nearby!" One of the men said.

"Well, if they've come here to steal our vehicles, they can't have them! Barry, Tom, Pascal, Melvin, let's get them!" Roman told his comrades. They got into battle position and began firing at the two groups.

"Shit, they know we're here!" Joan said.

"Deuce, Buford, Eric, the four of us will deal with them! Let's do this!" Kevin told them. The three nodded and they began shooting at the hostile soldiers. They were all shot in the head, and died instantly. Deuce, Eric, Buford and Kevin sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness, they're dead…" Buford said. He then turned to the rest of the group. "No one got shot?" He asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"Good. Well, let's get those vehicles and move for Atlanta." Buford said.

The groups nodded and made their way over to the vehicles. Deuce, and Eric got into the front passenger seats. The rest all got into the back of the vehicle. Toby noticed a horde of walkers coming their way.

"Deuce, there's a horde of walkers coming our way!" Toby told Deuce.

Deuce looked and nodded. "We'll move quickly, and then we'll lose them." He replied. Deuce quickly started the wagon and he drove off with it. As Deuce was driving the wagon down a long road, the other survivors were telling each other stories in the back.

"So, Pacifica, what was your job before the apocalypse?" Kevin asked.

"I was a personal trainer, so I'm quite athletic. My husband Wendell was a gun store owner, and I'm sure that he has some guns to defend himself out there. We're currently looking for him." Pacifica told Kevin.

Kevin nodded, being very interested in the story. "And what about you, Toby?" He asked Toby.

"I was in 5th grade in middle school." Toby replied. "My teacher was nice and I had some good friends. I'm afraid they are no longer with us, however…I just hope my dad is okay…" He said with a little bit of doubt in his voice.

"I'm sure your dad is alive and looking for you and your mother too." Kevin assured Toby. Toby smiled at that.

"What kind of you job did you have before the apocalypse, Kevin?" Pacifica asked.

"I was a car mechanic, so if we find a broken down vehicle, I could fix it in a jiffy." Kevin told Pacifica.

"I was a delivery man, so I'm a perfect partner for going on supply runs." Buford said.

"Supply runs?" Pacifica and Toby asked.

Buford nodded. "Yes, supply runs. I mean, in an apocalypse, you don't have the luxury of going to a supermarket or shopping mall, so looking for supplies will become a weekly, if not daily routine." He explained.

"Yes. We've already gone on a few supply runs ourselves. We're almost out of supplies, though. We should tell Deuce to stop somewhere so we can loot some abandoned stores." Gary said. "Anyways, I was a bus driver before the apocalypse, so I'm a pretty skilled driver." He continued.

"I was a sheriff deputy before the apocalypse, so I have some experience with guns." Joan said.

"I was a sheriff deputy too. Joan and I were actually colleagues." Tracey said.

"I was a cook in a school, so I have experience with making food." Casey said. She then turned to Thomas. "What about you, Thomas?"

"…" Thomas just remained silent.

"Once he opened up to us, he told us he was a soldier in the U.S. Army, like Deuce." Kevin told Casey. "What about your husband?" He asked her.

"My husband Eric was a firefighter." Casey told Kevin.

Everyone nodded as the wagon continued to drive down the road.


	6. Chapter 6: Arrival In Atlanta

Deuce's group, along with The Roamers, continued to drive down the road in their military wagon. As they were driving, Eric and Deuce were chatting.

"So, Deuce, do you have any kids?" Eric asked Deuce.

Deuce shook his head.

"No kids. I'm 21, and I never had a girlfriend before." Deuce replied. "What about you?" He asked Eric.

"I don't have kids either. My brother Earl's got Ciara." He replied.

"Earl looks pretty young to be a father of a girl who's Ciara's age." Deuce replied.

"I know. She ran away from home because of personal issues with her biological parents. We found her and took her in because she told us her mother was depressed and unable to raise a child, and her father died when she was 8." Eric explained to Deuce.

"I see…Well, I hope she, Earl and the others are doing okay out there in this dismal world…" Deuce said.

"Me too." Eric said.

"Deuce, we need to stop the wagon to get supplies!" Kevin shouted from the back.

"Understood, we're stopping in this town up ahead!" Deuce said. The group stopped in a town. Everyone got out of the wagon and looked around.

"So, is there anything we need?" Deuce asked.

Gary held up a list.

"We need packaged food along with clean water." Gary replied.

"Okay." Deuce replied. "I'll go get those supplies together with Buford and Eric."

Gary nodded as Deuce, Buford and Eric walked into town. They found an abandoned store.

"Hey, look, an abandoned store. Maybe we'll find the supplies we need in here." Deuce said.

The threesome entered the store and saw that the shelves were still full.

"Do we have anything to carry this stuff in?" Buford asked.

"I got that backpack Toby found." Deuce replied. "Let's take as much as we can carry."

Eric and Buford nodded and they began looting the shelves and filling up the backpack with packaged food and bottles of clean water. Eventually, the backpack was filled up.

"Alright, the backpack's as full as it can get. Let's take this back to the rest." Deuce said as he put the heavy backpack on his back. Deuce, Eric and Buford then returned to the group.

"We got as much as we could carry." Buford told the group. Deuce then showed everything they got. Kevin smiled.

"This pleases me. Well done, guys." Kevin said.

"Now, what should we do next?" Deuce asked. "Should we take the wagon again or continue on foot?"

Kevin thought about it.

"I think we should continue on foot to save fuel." Kevin said.

"I don't like walking!" Pacifica complained.

"Look, Pacifica, I know walking sucks, but in this apocalypse, we don't have much of a choice. Fuel and vehicles are rare, and we should only drive when absolutely neccessary." Kevin explained to her.

Pacifica sighed. "Fine, we're walking."

The group then continued their trek towards Atlanta.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, a black man wearing a black beanie, along with a white t-shirt and blue jeans was roaming the area on a horse. He had a hiking backpack on his back to store stuff in, and also had two pistols stored in holsters and a crowbar attached to his backpack. This was Wendell, Pacifica's husband and Toby's father. He was already in Atlanta, but it was deserted because it got overrun by Walkers.

"This is scary…What happened to this place?" Wendell said to himself.

"Hey, you. Over there on the horse." A male voice called out.

"Who's that?!" Wendell asked.

The person walked out of a deserted building. He was a man who appeared to be in his 50's. He wore a black tank top with a white and blue checkered shirt over it, along with a pair of stonewashed blue jeans. He also had grey hair.

"Me." The person said. "Are you okay?" He asked Wendell.

"Yeah, I am." Wendell said. "I'm Wendell Bradshaw, and I'm looking for my wife and son."

"Alright. I'm Rico Madden. I have a daughter named Nina and a nephew named Deuce. I'm not sure where Deuce is, to be honest, since I haven't seen him since the outbreak began."

Wendell nodded.

"I hope we find your nephew and my family soon." He said.

"Okay. Follow me, my daughter and some other survivors are in a makeshift camp we set up after Atlanta was overrun by Walkers." Rico told Wendell.

Wendell nodded and he followed Rico to the camp on his horse. Once they entered the camp, the other survivors in the camp looked at Wendell.

"Dad, who is this?" Nina asked.

"This is Wendell, I found him roaming around Atlanta on a horse." Rico explained to her.

"Are you sure he won't harm us, Rico?" A blonde woman asked.

"Well, if he tries to pull a stupid move, we'll just shoot him in the head, Gracie." Rico said to the blonde woman.

"I won't harm anyone as long as they treat everyone right." Wendell said to Rico.

Rico nodded.

"Alright. Well, welcome to our camp, Wendell." Rico replied. "Would you like a place to sleep?"

Wendell smiled and nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much." He said.

Rico nodded and gave Wendell an empty tent.

"Here you go, your own tent. We'll take care of your horse." Rico told Wendell.

"Thank you." Wendell said as he laid down in his tent and went to sleep.

Back with Deuce, his group and The Roamers, they were walking for as long as their legs could handle.

"Good thing I used to be a personal trainer, because walking can be very tiring if you do it for too long…" Pacifica said.

"Agreed, it can get pretty bad after you've walked for so long." Kevin stated.

"Well, as a former U.S. Private, I don't mind walking long distances. I've run distances in hot deserts, tropical jungles and flooded towns and I always got out alive." Deuce told the group.

"Well, let's continue our trek towards Atlanta. It should take us a few more days to get there if we keep pushing forward." Kevin said.

Everyone nodded and continued to walk towards Atlanta.

A few days later, the group finally got to Atlanta.

"We made it to Atlanta…" Pacifica groaned.

"What happened here? The place looks deserted!" Kevin commented.

"I suppose the place got overrun with Walkers." Eric commented.

"I guess we can only hope we'll find more survivors…" Tracey said.

The group walked through Atlanta, looking for any survivors. Suddenly, an old woman jumped out and aimed her pistol at the group.

"Don't try anything funny, ladies and gentlemen, or I will be forced to put you all down!" The woman exclaimed.

"We won't harm you, ma'am! Relax!" Kevin replied.

"If you say so…" The woman replied. "My name is Carmen Valentine. Who are you?"

"The name's Kevin Clinton." Kevin replied. "These are Buford Wilson, Gary Falcone, Thomas Grimes, Joan Black and Tracey White."

"I'm Deuce Madden. These are Pacifica and Toby Bradshaw, along with Eric and Casey Rogers." Deuce introduced his part of the group.

"Madden? Bradshaw? What a coincedence, we have a few Maddens and a Bradshaw in our camp."

"Really?! That means my husband is alive!" Pacifica said.

"Really?! You've got Maddens?! That means my Uncle Rico and Cousin Nina are alive too!" Deuce said.

"I can take you to our camp. Follow me." Carmen told the group. Everyone then walked to the camp. Once they entered the camp, Rico and Deuce looked at each other and their eyes widened.

"Deuce?!" Rico said, surprised.

"Uncle Rico!" Deuce said.

The two ran up to each other and gave each other a hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" Rico cheered.

"Same here!" Deuce cheered. "Is Nina alive too?" He asked.

"Yes. Nina! Deuce is here!" Rico called.

Nina immediately ran over and hugged Deuce as well.

"Oh, Deuce! I'm so glad you're okay, cousin!" Nina said.

"Same here, cousin." Deuce happily said.

"Hey, what's going on?" Wendell asked. He suddenly saw Pacifica and Toby.

"Pacifica! Toby!" He exclaimed.

"Honey!" Pacifica called.

"Dad!" Toby called.

The Bradshaw Family ran up to each other and gave each other a hug.

"Oh, we were so worried…" Pacifica said, holding back her tears.

"I was worried about you too…" Wendell said.

"I'm glad to see you again, dad…" Toby said.

"Well, welcome to our Atlanta Camp." Rico told everyone.

"Thank you, Uncle Rico." Deuce said. "But what happened to Atlanta?"

"Well, Atlanta got overrun by Walkers, and a bunch of survivors who got here afterwards, including Nina and me set up a makeshift camp. And that's the camp we're in right now." Rico explained.

"I see…" Deuce said. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Well, we could go and try to visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They were trying to create a cure for the outbreak there." Rico told Deuce.

"Alright, but first, we want to rest for a bit. We went through a lot to get here." Eric said.

Rico nodded at Eric. "Well, rest all you want. When you feel like you're ready to go to the CDC, let me know." He said.

Later that night, Deuce was lying in a tent with Wendell and Toby.

"So you protected my wife and son while I was out in this dismal world?" Wendell asked Deuce.

"Yep. I stumbled across your home and I found your wife there. She then introduced me to your son and then we traveled all the way here with another group." Deuce told Wendell.

"I see. I owe you big time for protecting my family for me. Your name is Deuce, right?" Wendell asked Deuce again.

"Yep. And you're Wendell?" Deuce replied.

"Yes." Wendell said.

"You're a pretty cool guy." Deuce said.

"Thank you. You too." Wendell said.

"Deuce is teaching me how to shoot." Toby told his father.

"Ah, good. It's important to know how to defend yourself in this post-apocalyptic world, son." Wendell said. "You're going to kick those Walkers' butts, I know it."

Toby smiled. "Alright, good night." He said.

The three then went to sleep.


End file.
